Mecklenburg County votes to put $1.5 million into historic club’s rebuilding
Mecklenburg County commissioners voted Tuesday to contribute financially to the revitalization of a west Charlotte landmark.
The board voted 7-2 to put $1.5 million into a plan to resurrect the Excelsior Club, once a hub for Black nightlife in Charlotte. Commissioners Elaine Powell and Susan Rodriguez-McDowell voted against the funding. Its vote follows one from the Charlotte City Council’s economic development committee, which voted earlier this month to advance its own $1.5 million contribution to a vote of the full council.
Project leaders said previously the remaining $5.3 million needed for the redevelopment will come from the developers and foundations.
The club, first opened on Beatties Ford Road in 1944, hosted legendary performers such as Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong and political leaders including Bill Clinton. It was Charlotte’s first private club for Black residents. But the club closed in 2016 and fell into disrepair, with past efforts to revive it falling through.
The latest redevelopment plan is led by Shawn Kennedy, of Charlotte-based Kennedy Properties & Development, in partnership with Prosperity Alliance and Tim Sittema of Charlotte’s Crosland Southeast.
The $8.3 million plan calls for the existing building to be demolished and replaced with a replica of the space with an added rooftop deck. The new venue would include space for live music, forums, farmers markets and other community events.
Multiple speakers urged county commissioners to back the plan at Tuesday’s meeting. Speakers highlighted the club’s historical significance and its current neglected state.
“The Excelsior Club was a place where I felt safe. I believe it to be like a lighthouse, where all residents of Mecklenburg can feel safe,” said Rev. Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP.
Rodriguez-McDowell, one of the two commissioners who voted against the funding, said she still had questions about the potential return on investment and the specifics of the redevelopment plan.
“I’m concerned about putting county dollars into something that might struggle to survive,” she said.
Powell, the other “no” vote, questioned why more foundations aren’t stepping up to fund the Excelsior Club project.
“This is a great idea, and so they should be tripping over themselves to help fund it,” she said.
Board Chairman Mark Jerrell, who voted in favor of the plan, called the county’s role in the project “an economic development deal.”
“This is bigger than Beatties Ford Road. There are communities within Mecklenburg County that have been underinvested in for generations,” he said.
Charlotte Observer reporter Desiree Mathurin contributed reporting to this story.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 10:36 AM.
